


Different

by Inell



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Action/Adventure, Friendship, Hogwarts Era, The Quidditch Pitch: From Diagon Alley to Hogwarts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-07-31
Updated: 2006-07-31
Packaged: 2018-10-26 16:52:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10790748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inell/pseuds/Inell
Summary: Hermione has always been different





	Different

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Annie, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [The Quidditch Pitch](http://fanlore.org/wiki/The_Quidditch_Pitch), which went offline in 2015 when the hosting expired, at a time I was not able to renew it. I contacted Open Doors, hoping to preserve the archive using an old backup, and began importing these works as an Open Doors-approved project in April 2017. Open Doors e-mailed all authors about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact us using the e-mail address on [The Quidditch Pitch collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thequidditchpitch/profile).

  
Author's notes: [](http://community.livejournal.com/100quills/profile)[**100quills**](http://community.livejournal.com/100quills/) prompt: Fixed  


* * *

Hermione has always been different. She hears people talk about ‘normal’ but doesn’t really understand what that means. The word is given to various things that don’t seem to have anything in common. She’s young but even she can see that the term isn’t accurate. She likes to learn and likes reading far more than playing with dolls or being silly on the playground, so that makes her ‘not normal’ according to some people.

Her parents encourage her interests, though, and she’s not been treated like a child since she got out of nappies. They tell her she’s smart and that there’s nothing wrong with being different because she sees the world through ‘old eyes’, but she doesn’t really understand that because her eyes are only as old as she is. She wonders sometimes that it might be easier if she didn’t see things the way she does but she doesn’t really think that easier is better.

When she starts school, the other children treat her differently and some even call her names, but she tries not to care because there is so much to learn. She discovers books and homework and learns how rewarding it is to receive praise for knowing the answers. She likes for her teachers to smile and say ‘Well done, Hermione’ or ‘Good job, Hermione’.

It gets lonely sometimes not having any friends, but they all act so silly and don’t care at all about learning anything new. Her mum tells her that she’s just special and should be proud of who she is. There are always new things to learn, after all, and Hermione has a thirst for knowledge (and for knowing the answers).

She loves solving puzzles. Ever since she was a baby, she’s enjoyed putting the pieces together to create something. As she gets older, she realizes that it’s much more fun to take things apart and then learn how to put them back together again. There’s something so satisfying about learning how things work.

During the summer, she takes the toaster apart one afternoon while her parents are at work. She sits on the cool tile floor of the kitchen with the bits and pieces all around her and tries to put it back together. The parts aren’t fitting, though, and she knows she’s forgotten something. She doesn’t like not having the answer and knows she has to find out how to fix it. She can’t bear the thought of her parents being disappointed in her.

She looks at the notes she took when she separated the parts of the toaster. The precise handwriting is neat and tidy but doesn’t give her the answer as to why the toaster isn’t fitting back together. Her parents will be home soon, and it’s a mess. She feels tears of frustration gathering in her eyes as she stares at the unfinished toaster.

“Oh, please, just let me fix you,” she whispers as she focuses on the extra parts and tries to figure out where they go. Her eyes widen as the bits move on their own and seem to fly through the air. Within seconds, the toaster is completely fixed and sitting on the floor before her as if she’d never touched it.

She wonders if she’s dreaming because nothing else makes sense. She couldn’t have just seen what she saw. After she sits there blinking at the toaster, halfway expecting it to suddenly move on its own or come to life, she hesitantly reaches out to touch it. She can feel the cool metal beneath her fingertips and knows she’s awake.

In that instant, she realizes that she’s even more different than she ever thought.  



End file.
